Non-epileptic seizures (NES) are predicted by depressive and dissociative symptoms

Mazza M et al. ? Results are consistent with the hypothesis that depression and dissociative mechanisms are important precursors to the development and expression of pseudo-seizures of non-epileptic seizures (NES).

Methods
  • Measurement of depressive and dissociative symptoms in NES pts
  • Comparison of NES pts with epileptic pts and healthy controls
  • Definition of a personality profile specific to, or typical, of NES pts
  • Subjects: 1) 30 consecutive NES pts (21 female; 9 male; mean age 32.9 � 11.7 yrs) diagnosed clinically and confirmed by video?EEG recording
  • 2) 30 epilepsy pts matched for age and sex with ≥2 seizures in 12 mo prior to study despite pharmacologic treatment
  • 3) 30 controls, healthy volunteers, matched for age and sex
  • Psychometric evaluation: Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Dissociative Experience Scale, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)
Results
  • Significantly higher prevalence of depressive and dissociative symptoms in NES vs epileptic pts and controls
  • No difference between epileptic pts and control group
  • General increase in most MMPI-2 T-scores for NES group vs epileptic pts and controls,rather than constant elevation (T-score > 70) of ≥1 scales
  • No specific personality profile could be identified for NES group.

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